No. 1 Golden State Warriors (67-15, 12-0) vs. No. 2 Cleveland Cavaliers (51-31, 12-1) Season series:

begins Thursday:

Tied, 1-1. The Cavaliers pulled out a 109-108 victory in their heavily hyped Christmas Day matchup in Cleveland when Kyrie Irving made a turnaround jumper with 3.4 seconds remaining to complete a comeback from a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit. Golden State answered with a 126-91 rout nearly a month later, leading by as much as 39 points at home against a Cavaliers team that lacked energy in the last game of a six-game road trip.

The Warriors and Cavaliers make NBA history by becoming the first teams to meet in three straight NBA Finals. Golden State won in 2015, Cleveland erased a 3-1 deficit to win its first championship last year, and the rubber match that was expected all along was set up easily with the teams combining for just one loss through three rounds. Warriors in 7.